Yokosuka: The City Where Perry Came Ashore
In the summer of 1853, four black-hulled American warships anchored in Tokyo Bay, and Commodore Matthew Perry came ashore at Kurihama in southern Yokosuka with a letter from the President of the United States. That landing cracked open two centuries of Japanese isolation. But Yokosuka's encounter with the outside world had begun even earlier: in 1600, an English sailor named William Adams arrived at Uraga aboard the Dutch trading vessel Liefde, becoming the first Briton to set foot in Japan. For his services to the Tokugawa shogunate, Adams was granted samurai status and a fief within the boundaries of present-day Yokosuka. A monument to Adams -- known locally as Miura Anjin -- still stands in the city today. From the moment outsiders first arrived on the Miura Peninsula, Yokosuka's fate was tied to the sea and to the collision of cultures across it.
Gatekeeper of the Bay
Yokosuka occupies most of the Miura Peninsula, bordered by the mouth of Tokyo Bay to the east and Sagami Bay on the Pacific Ocean to the west. This geography made the city a natural chokepoint. The Tokugawa shogunate recognized this strategic value early, establishing the post of Uraga Bugyo in 1720 and requiring all shipping entering the bay to stop for inspection. As foreign vessels began probing Japan's defenses in the 19th century, the shogunate ringed Yokosuka with coastal artillery batteries, including an outpost at Otsu in 1842. None of it stopped Perry. But the very vulnerability that brought the Black Ships also brought transformation: in 1865, the shogunate hired French engineer Leonce Verny to build a modern naval arsenal at Yokosuka, creating the first modern shipyard in Japan and launching the country's industrial revolution.
Twenty-Seven Kilometers of Tunnels
During World War II, Yokosuka was struck by a single bomber in the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942, with little damage. But the Japanese military anticipated worse. Between 1938 and 1945, more than 260 caves in over 20 separate tunnel networks were carved throughout the area, totaling at least 27 kilometers of known tunnels within the grounds of Yokosuka Naval Base alone. Hidden inside these passages were a 500-bed hospital, an electrical power generating facility, and a midget submarine factory. When American occupation forces landed on August 30, 1945, they inherited not just a naval base but an underground city. The caves later served as storage and emergency shelter during the Korean War. Many tunnels remain scattered throughout the surrounding areas, sealed but not forgotten.
Two Navies, One Harbor
Since the 1950s, U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka has served as home port for the United States Seventh Fleet, playing a critical support role in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force operates its own military port immediately adjacent to the American base. This shared waterfront makes Yokosuka one of the few cities in the world where two allied navies operate side by side. The cultural blending runs deep. Dobuita Street, just outside the base's main gates, is a strip where shops accept U.S. dollars and American-style bars sit next to Japanese izakaya. The preserved battleship Mikasa -- Admiral Togo's flagship at the Battle of Tsushima, built in Britain by Vickers -- sits on dry land in the city as a museum, complete with costumed actors portraying the original crew.
Curry, Cars, and Rock Stars
Beyond the military, Yokosuka is an industrial city. Nissan Motors operates a major factory here that began production in 1961 with the Nissan Bluebird and now assembles the Nissan Leaf, Cube, and Juke models. The Yokosuka Research Park, established in 1997, has become a hub for Japan's telecommunications industry, housing wireless and mobile communications research facilities. Every May, a festival celebrating Japanese curry draws 50,000 attendees. The city has produced former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Olympic gold medalist judoka Isao Inokuma, and rock musician Hide of X Japan, whose memorial museum drew fans to Yokosuka for five years before closing in 2005. Gamers know the city as the setting for the 1999 video game Shenmue, which faithfully recreated Dobuita Street down to its signage.
A Population in Retreat
Yokosuka's population peaked around 1990 and has been declining since. The city currently numbers around 373,000 residents, making it the 11th-most populous in the Greater Tokyo Area. Its foreign community is predominantly Filipino, Korean, Chinese, and American -- a reflection of both the naval base and the city's manufacturing economy. In 2001, Yokosuka was designated a core city, granting it increased autonomy from the central government. The designation acknowledged what geography and history had long made clear: Yokosuka is not a suburb of Tokyo or Yokohama but a city with its own identity, shaped by the convergence of ancient warrior clans, foreign navies, and the enduring strategic importance of a peninsula at the mouth of Tokyo Bay.
From the Air
Located at 35.28N, 139.67E on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. The city is clearly visible from altitude occupying most of the peninsula, with Tokyo Bay to the east and Sagami Bay to the west. The U.S. and Japanese naval installations are prominent along the eastern waterfront. The preserved battleship Mikasa is visible near Mikasa Park. Best viewed at 3,000-6,000 feet AGL. Yokosuka is approximately 15nm south of Yokohama and 30nm south of Tokyo Haneda (RJTT). Naval Air Facility Atsugi (RJTA) lies approximately 20nm to the northwest.